On 8 January 2020, the Boeing 737-800 flying the route was shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shortly after takeoff,[4][5][6] killing all 176 occupants on board.

[11][12] Iran was on the highest state of defensive alert and, according to Commander of the Aerospace Force of the IRGC Amir Ali Hajizadeh, was "totally prepared for a full-fledged war".

[43] It was the deadliest aviation occurrence in terms of fatalities involving the Boeing 737 Next Generation fleet until Jeju Air Flight 2216 crashed in Muan nearly five years later.

According to Ukrainian foreign minister Vadym Prystaiko and a flight manifest released by UIA,[56] of the 167 passengers, 82 were confirmed to be Iranian citizens, 63 were Canadian, 3 were British, 4 were Afghan, 10 were Swedish, and 3 were German.

[96] On 11 June, Iran announced that the flight recorders would be sent directly to the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) in France.

[100] On 8 January, Iran's Road and Transportation Ministry released a statement that the aircraft burst into flames after a fire started in one of its engines, causing the pilot to lose control and crash into the ground.

[65] On 9 January, U.S. intelligence and defence officials said they believed the aircraft had been shot down by an Iranian Tor missile (NATO reporting name SA-15 "Gauntlet"),[105] based on evidence from reconnaissance satellite imagery and radar data.

[53] Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau said evidence from multiple sources, including Canadian intelligence, suggested the aircraft was shot down by an Iranian missile.

[106] Iranian media described it as "an American lie", "a wrongful scenario by CIA and the Pentagon", and "an attempt to prevent Boeing stock from a free fall".

[129][71] Aviation monitoring group Opsgroup said: "We would recommend the starting assumption to be that this was a shootdown event, similar to MH17—until there is clear evidence to the contrary" asserting that photographs "show obvious projectile holes in the fuselage and a wing section".

[131] U.S. intelligence sources informed U.S. media outlets they were "confident that Iran painted the Ukrainian airliner with radar and fired two surface to air missiles that brought down the aircraft.

[134] On 10 January, during an interview with Sky News, Iran's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Hamid Baeidinejad, rejected video footage obtained by American media that showed bulldozers clearing the crash site as "absurd".

[140][141] On 8 January 2021, the first anniversary of the shootdown, Ukraine and several other countries made a joint statement calling on Iran for a thorough investigation and reiterated for them to prosecute anyone involved, and provide full compensation.

Ukraine was critical, stating that the compensation should be set through talks after establishing the causes of the crash, and that "the Ukrainian side expects from Iran a draft technical report on the circumstances of the aircraft shooting down".

Leah West, an assistant professor at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University said that the "judge contorted the law by cherry-picking his way to finding the aircraft was destroyed in an act of terrorism."

[157] The lawyer for the plaintiffs indicated that, depending on the amounts awarded, he would move to have Iranian assets in Canada or internationally seized, including oil tankers.

In particular, it is necessary to check for involvement in the commission of the crime lower-level servicemen of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including Captain Mehdi Khosravi, commander of the M-1 TOR, First Lieutenant Meysam Kheirollahi, operator, Third Lieutenant Seyed Ahmad Miri, First Lieutenant Mohammad Majid Eslam Doost, Captain Sajjad Mohammadi, Major Hamed Mabhout, Second Brigadier General Ibrahim Safaei Kia, Brigadier General Ali Akbar Seydoun and Iranian Army Colonel Mostafa Farati, who are charged with negligence, recklessness and improper performance of duty and other related offences.

[163] Ukraine, Sweden, Canada and Britain stated that Iran did not "conduct an impartial, transparent and fair criminal investigation" but rather "withheld or destroyed evidence" and threatened families of victims.

[164] On 5 July 2023, the four affected countries of Canada, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Sweden referred the case of the downing of flight PS752 to the International Court of Justice.

[43] The suspension also complied with a prohibition issued by State Aviation Administration of Ukraine for flights in Iran's airspace for all Ukrainian registered aircraft.

[174] Foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif apologized for the disaster and added that the preliminary conclusion of the armed forces' internal investigation was "human error".

[177][178] On 11 January, in response to the government's admission, thousands of protesters poured into the streets of Tehran and other Iranian cities such as Isfahan, Shiraz, Hamadan and Urmia.

[181][182] The mourning Iranians called Qasem Soleimani a murderer and tore up pictures of him, shattering the appearance of national solidarity that had followed his death.

[191] Amnesty International reported that on 11 and 12 January Iranian security forces used tear gas, pointed pellets and pepper spray against peaceful demonstrators.

[192] On 13 January, the Los Angeles Times reported that Iranian security forces fired both live ammunition and tear gas to disperse demonstrators.

[194] Iranian reformist newspaper Etemad ran the banner headline "Apologize and resign", and commented on the "people's demand" for the removal of those responsible for the shootdown.

"[216] On 23 December 2020, Trudeau announced that the Government of Canada will designate 8 January of every year as the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Air Disasters.

[217] On 24 June 2021, an official report from Canada placed the blame on the downing of the plane on Iranian "recklessness, incompetence, and wanton disregard for human life".

[218] On 7 October 2022, Trudeau announced the Iranian regime, including the IRGC and its top leaders – more than 10,000 officers and senior members – would be listed as inadmissible to Canada for their engagement in terrorism and systemic and gross human rights violations.

[220][221] The ambassador was detained on suspicion that he had joined demonstrations against the government; he denied this and clarified that he had attended an event advertised as a vigil, to pay respects to the victims, and had left five minutes after people started chanting.